England beats Germany by 1-0 in 2011 Rabo FIH Champion Trophy
Alex Danson notched the solitary goal and had an assist to carry England to a 1-0 victory over Germany in the Pool-D match of the 2011 Rabo FIH Champions Trophy that took place at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Holland, on June 30.
Germany and England unfolded the game maturely and displayed impressive defence on the field. Julia Muller was the real architect of the attacks from German team in the opening minutes, while Kate Walsh, the skipper of England, was working on the counter-attacks.
In the first 20 minutes, Germany earned more chances as compared to the opponents.
Muller made plenty of penetrations into the defensive circle of England, but to no avail. She also attempted to score in the two shorts-corners, but failed to cash them into successful goals. The defensemen from England were active on their position and
denied all the efforts successfully.
In the mid-way to the first half of play, the English team found a great chance to establish their dominance in the game, when Anna Bennett made an infiltration from the right flank into the 25-yard line of Germany. But the shot played from Bennett was denied
by a well-coordinated defence-line of Germany. Despite loads of attacks and counter-attacks, the first half of play between Germany and England ended at 0-0.
After a short break between the two halves, the German and English women resumed the play in a more offensive way as compared to the first round. The strikers from England and Germany failed to break the deadlock in the first 20 minutes of the second round.
At last, Alex Danson managed to breach the defence-line of Germany and took the ball at the top of the circle. With a little effort, she slammed the ball into the German goal. Yvonne Frank, the German custodian, had no chance to stop the ball.
The go-ahead goal enhanced the confidence of English players and they adopted a more offensive style of play in the remaining minutes. Danny Kerry, another veteran English player, made a penetration in a bid to expand the lead, but the German goalie denied
the effort and cleared the ball from circle. In the very short span of time, she blocked three short-corners and kept the hopes high for Germany to return into the match.
In an unparalleled way, the German team received a large number of opportunities including short-corners, but failed to get itself on the score-board. In the waning minutes, Marie Mavers made an attempt, but failed to do so and lost the game at 1-0.
Tags: